We had an extremely busy week at the capitol. Gainesville, Hollister, and Blue Eye schools had students, teachers, and administrators come in and visit our office to say hello and address their comments and concerns regarding education. We are so blessed in my district not to have some of the other problems facing schools in urban areas. One thing that is always a concern is what students are going to do after graduation. Most always state that while they love the area, there just aren’t enough opportunities to work and stay close to home. One of our biggest goals is the implantation of high-speed internet within the district. If there’s one positive thing that can from the pandemic it is that a lot of people are able to work from home. But that’s only if they have access to Broadband. We are so fortunate that White River Electric Co-op has decided to provide that for its members. The implementation of this service will change life as we know it in rural Missouri and all of the United States.
Living here in the Ozarks we are also blessed to be surrounded by people with common sense, a love of liberty, and a respect for law enforcement. Unfortunately, that is not the case for some of the folks in our urban areas so the legislature sometimes has to step in to change laws to protect those who serve and businesses. Below are two examples of such examples.
House Members Approve Proposal to Improve Pay for Kansas City Police Officers (HBs 640 & 729)
The Missouri House gave preliminary approval this week to a legislative proposal that would help the Kansas City Police Department attract and retain the very best law enforcement personnel. With a first-round voice vote, House Members approved legislation that would allow the department to offer better pay to officers and the chief of police.
HBs 640 & 729 would eliminate the current authorized salary ceiling for the Kansas City police chief and allow the Board of Police Commissioners to establish a salary ceiling by resolution. The bill would also eliminate the existing salary ceilings for police officers, computed according to rank, and empower the board to use the salary minimums as a base in pay ranges for officers in crafting their comprehensive pay schedule program.
My good friend and former football coach, Chris Brown, the bill’s sponsor said it is important to put the power to establish a salary schedule in the hands of the Board of Police Commissioners rather than the hands of the state.
He said, “The hope with this bill is that they are going to set a very aggressive, competitive salary schedule from the chief all the way down to try to bring officers into the Kansas City Police Department.”
The sponsor noted the Kansas City Police Department is currently down 254 police officers and is losing officers to surrounding areas where they can receive better pay.
He said, “I would like to see the best salary schedule in the Kansas City metro area. Hopefully, we can use that to help with recruitment, and hopefully, we can keep people on the force longer.”
I am 55 years old and still learning. Language written decades ago had been prohibitive of people working past 60 years of age. The current requirement is that the Kansas City police chief be under 60 years of age. During the discussion on the floor, members also approved an emergency clause that would allow the bill to go into effect immediately if it is approved by both chambers and signed into law.
Brown told me and others, “In 2022 we had the second-highest homicide rate in the city’s history. We had 169 homicides last year in Kansas City. That is unacceptable. With so many officers we don’t have in the force, we need relief now. We need relief in Kansas City for the men and women who are daily out there protecting and serving.”
The bill now requires another vote in the House before moving to the Senate for consideration.
Protecting Businesses from Costly Mandates (HB 184)
We also approved legislation this week aimed at protecting businesses, schools, and churches from burdensome government mandates. By a vote of 105-36, the House approved HB 184 to prohibit local ordinances requiring businesses to pay for new electric vehicle charging stations.
Jim Murphy, the bill’s sponsor said his legislation comes in response to a trend that has seen municipalities mandate that small businesses, shopping centers, and churches install and pay for electric charging stations whenever they make improvements to their facilities. He said an ordinance in St. Louis County requires businesses to add and pay for electric charging stations even if they expand their parking lot.
The sponsor said, “Is it proper for a government to tell a business you have to do something that has nothing to do with your business? It will bring you no profit. It will bring you nothing. Which I think is not the role of government.”
He also noted that such requirements don’t appropriately belong in the category of building codes. “There are two things building codes are supposed to do. They’re supposed to give you safety and protect your health. This really has nothing to do with that,” he said.
One supporter said he has seen the impact of the mandates in his area where businesses have put off making improvements to avoid the additional costs associated with installing charging stations.
He said, “They don’t even want to repave their parking lot because they have to put in 10 to 15 grand worth of electrical vehicle stations. They don’t have the money to do it. It’s an unnecessary mandate.” He added, “I think this helps our small businesses greatly.”
Another supporter added, “When a political subdivision is going to infringe upon the property rights of private business owners and private property owners I believe it is the duty of this body to step up and put a stop to that encroachment of power.”
HB 184 also prohibits any political subdivision from requiring any school or religious organization to install an electric vehicle charging station.
The bill’s sponsor told his colleagues, “I don’t think it’s the government’s responsibility to be the marketing department for General Motors and Chrysler or BMW.”
He added, “Businesses develop their business, they develop their parking lots, for their customers, not as fueling stations. Let the free market fend for itself. If there’s a demand, it will be there.”
We have Twin Bridges Canoe Rental in Douglas County and the estimated cost for a station that would charge an electric vehicle was almost $8,000. As time goes by and customers demand such a need that is certainly something we will consider as adding as a benefit for our customers. However, mandating such things now simply doesn’t make sense.
HB 184 now moves to the Senate for consideration.
We are also adding more funds to the budget for law enforcement training.
Missouri Blue Scholarships Awarded to Support Training for Law Enforcement Recruits
During the same week the members of the Missouri House discussed legislation to improve pay for Kansas City police officers, Gov. Parson called on legislators to provide additional support for a program that is designed to attract more Missourians to law enforcement careers. Parson announced the Missouri Blue Scholarship has already helped fund the training for 217 Missouri law enforcement recruits and asked lawmakers to approve new funding for the program in both a supplemental budget bill and the state operating budget for the next fiscal year.
Parson announced the Missouri Blue Scholarship program in October as a way to help attract more Missourians to law enforcement careers and address officer shortages in law enforcement agencies across the state. The scholarships, administered by the Missouri Department of Public Safety, are awarded on a first come, first served basis to pay for law enforcement training academy tuition.
Parson said, “We designed the Missouri Blue Scholarship to help support men and women interested in dedicating their lives to law enforcement careers, and we’re extremely pleased with the success of the scholarship program.
He added, “The Missouri Blue Scholarship assists future officers who will serve and protect in both urban and rural departments across our state. There continues to be a tremendous need for law enforcement officers, and that is why we are requesting additional funds for Missouri Blue Scholarships and continuing the program in our Fiscal Year 2024 budget.”
In the program’s first year, 169 recruits received the maximum $5,000 scholarship and 48 received scholarships ranging up to $4,953. Missouri Blue Scholarships can be combined with other student aid programs, including the Federal Pell Grant Program, GI Bill benefits, and other scholarships. The $1 million Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Missouri Blue Scholarship was fully expended this month.
Due to the tremendous success of the program and additional scholarship seekers beyond the original $1 million appropriation, Parson is asking the General Assembly to approve $175,000 to fund an additional 35 full scholarships in the current fiscal year. Currently, there are more than 30 applicants awaiting scholarship approvals.
Parson has also requested continued funding for the program in the FY 2024 State Operating Budget. If approved by the Missouri General Assembly, an additional $1 million to fund Missouri Blue Scholarships would be available on July 1, 2023, the beginning of FY 2024. Applications are available online at: https://apps1.mo.gov/DPSRoster/TrainingAcademyScholarshipApplication.aspx.
Recruits who would be attending a law enforcement training academy by June 1, 2024, are eligible to apply.
Supplemental Funding Bill Sent to the Senate (HB 14)
We are seeing a great deal more of these Black Vultures in the area. These are truly creatures from Hell that poke out the eyes of new born cattle and their mothers as they give birth. If you have the stomach to see the devastation these creatures cause to livestock should check out my colleague, Scott Cupps’ Facebook page. He has lost countless livestock to these ruthless predators.
- $628,750 appropriation to the Department of Agriculture to help address the growing black vulture problem impacting livestock owners statewide.
Thank you for taking the time to read our Capitol Report. If you’re coming to Jefferson City please don’t hesitate to call the office and set up an appointment as we can set all kinds of fun things to do. Remember, it’s your capitol and the government belongs to the people and should be run by the people.
